Divyan, Roshni and their sons, Adam and Levi, are a family of four from the city of Chennai. Both Divyan and Roshni are professionals from the field of communications and have worked with non-profits in the past. Roshni later on went to train and work with children with special needs while Divyan continued to explore the fields of graphic and web design.

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It was in 2013 that Divyan heard about MAF as an answer to prayer. Being a qualified pilot, he was eager to use his flying skills to help people in need. However during his induction he was asked if he would consider joining as an Area Communications Officer for the Asia Pacific Region as the need was critical. After much prayer and thought, Divyan accepted the role.

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Divyan, Roshni, Adam and Levi serve with MAF in Arnhem Land, Australia. They are supporting the needs of the programme and are happy to be involved with the local community.

Abdiel and Neetha, both grew up as kids of parents who were medical missionaries in remote parts of India. Abdiel went on to get his Commercial Pilot’s License, and Neetha became a Special Educator.

 

In 2014, Abdiel through many interactions with different people, felt called to MAF. He initially applied to join as a pilot but later decided to apply for an Asia Development role.

  

He and Neetha married in January 2015 and in May that year, they joined MAF International. Abdiel works towards developing MAF in Asia, and Neetha works part time as an Asia Development Officer. Their daughter, Kiara is 2. They are based in Cairns, Australia, and are happy that they get to spend time with all the MAF India staff that transition through MAF International’s operational headquarters.

Ravi and Pooja grew up in the north of India, in very different families. Ravi met Pooja at a seminar and they both became friends. After many deep conversations with her and some other people, Ravi accepted Christ as his Saviour. They married in 2015, and were blessed with a baby girl, Johanna in 2017.

 

Ravi is an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, and Pooja has a master’s in Social Work.

 

Although, Ravi got to know about MAF in 2012, because of various circumstances and personal commitments, he was only able to join MAF International in April 2018. He now serves as the Stores Manager in Arnhem Land, Australia. Pooja and Johanna will join him in the next few months.

 

He is very excited about beginning his journey with MAF and the way in which God called him to serve.

Growing up in a mission-based family, Sonali had resolved to work anywhere but missions. Satish always believed that one had to bring glory to God through professional excellence in the secular world. However, the great commandment and the great commission, a desire to follow Jesus Christ and to make Him known, remains the principle motivator for doing what they have embarked to do!

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In answer to His calling, they have chosen to move ‘out of their comfort zone’ to serve with MAF in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Sonali is utilising her versatile experience across several fields in particular her expertise in human resource management to fill the HR Manager’s role in the MAF programme in PNG.

Satish will be a Line Pilot with MAF and help in ‘bringing God’s love to the isolated’.

 

Their sons, Sachh and Sanay, join their parents in accepting the challenges of education in a remote and developing nation and growing up in a new environment. 

Varghese & Nirmala have served as medical missionaries for several years in many parts of India. Both of them were part of a team that established a hospital in a remote tribal region in Eastern India. Subsequently, VP was part of the leadership team of Emmanuel Hospital Association which has a network of 20 mission hospitals and a large network of community outreach programs. Nirmala was involved in starting an HIV & AIDS care centre. Both of them have been active members of the Evangelical Medical Fellowship of India. 

 

In the last two years, they felt that they wanted to continue to serve people in remote communities in other parts of the world. In July 2017, they began serving with MAF International in Papua New Guinea. VP’s role is to see how MAF can be more effective in fulfilling its vision of serving isolated communities by engaging meaningfully with partners. He is also working on new projects to make MAF’s ministry more strategic. He serves as MAF Papua New Guinea’s Strategic Development Manager. Nirmala is involved in various ministries, including a prison ministry. They are based in Mt. Hagen, the third biggest city in Papua New Guinea.

Jacophin is from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Her dad works in the fishing industry and aviation was an unusual career to pursue for a girl from her community. However, her father was very supportive when she told him of her desire to become a pilot and encouraged her to pursue her dreams.

 

At 17, she enrolled at a flight school in the U.S. and by the time she was 18, she obtained her Commercial Pilot’s License. She went on to convert her license in India with an aim to fly within the country.

 

In 2015, while searching for job opportunities, her mother found out about MAF, and the work that they were doing. She felt that this was a God-given opportunity for Jacophin to use her aviation skills to serve God and serve others. Jacophin applied to fly with MAF in 2016 and soon joined the MAF family as a pilot.  

 

Today, she is a mission pilot serving in Arnhem Land, Australia.

Sundar and Pushpa have been married 29 years and have two surviving children. Kalvi, their daughter, teaches at a school in Guatemala. Arivan, their son is taking a gap-year before going to University. He also teaches the violin. 

 

Pushpa is presently teaching at a school in India. She has a love for Literature and it is what she has studied and taught at both the college and high school levels. She has been an editor for a publishing house and still freelances when she has the time. She is interested in theatre as well and enjoys spending time with young people. She spear-headed an organisation to support families of people with mental challenges and hopes to continue to serve wherever there is need.  

 

Sundar has been in the field of drug use and HIV, initially hands-on and subsequently moving to motivating and equipping others in this field. He then moved into programme management serving local, national, international, and bilateral agencies as consultant. He was later involved in community development and served as the head of a Christian community development organisation in North East India. He served as Asia regional co-ordinator for a global Christian mission network. He is passionate about integral mission, and now serves with MAF in Bangaldesh as the Projects Grants Manager and Development Director. 

Lungpinglak (Ping), grew up in Jalukie, Nagaland. Though he knew no one from the field of aviation he had the dream of becoming a pilot since he was 10 years old. Years later, he received a scholarship from the Government of Nagaland that covered 75% of the fees to train as a pilot and obtain a Commercial Pilot Licence. In 2011, he became a licenced commercial pilot. 

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Ping got a job as a co-pilot for a private organisation based out of Kolkata. It was during this time that he met a Bangladeshi man who told him about MAF. At the time, MAF India did not exist. Ping decided to send in an enquiry with his story anyway. He was convinced that he could use his flying career to serve God.

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He applied to serve with MAF in 2014. In 2016, he was off to Arnhem Land, Australia as a line pilot. A year later he left for MAF Africa and spent most of 2017 in Kenya with a few weeks in South Sudan and Uganda. He now serves with MAF in Uganda as a pilot. 

Gopi and Smitha are from Andhra Pradesh, South India. They married in December 2000, and have a son, Anoop, who is in senior school now.  

 

Gopi completed his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering and worked for a few corporations.

 

He heard the testimony of a young MAF pilot at his home church in Hyderabad. He expressed an interest in working with MAF’s IT department, and after few discussions, applied for an IT Service Manager role, based in India.

 

Gopi joined MAF in January 2018, and is based in Hyderabad, India. Smitha works as a ‘PMO team-lead’ with Accenture. Gopi and Smitha are grateful for this unique opportunity they have to serve God. Gopi is extremely happy about being a part of the MAF International team, and loves travelling, meeting new people and learning about new cultures and customs.

Joel and Gladys both grew up in Vellore, a small town in Tamil Nadu. Joel comes from a family who were involved in mission work. Gladys’ parents worked as missionaries in remote places in India. 

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Joel completed his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and went on to pursue his Master’s in Business Administration, after which he joined a Christian recruitment firm and was involved in their outreach activities as well.  

 

Gladys became a Special Educator, seeing the need to reach out to children in a culture that didn’t recognise learning difficulties as a problem.

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They were married in 2015 and were blessed with their son Joseph in 2017.

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Joel heard about MAF in 2013 when he met Bill Harding, but it was only in August 2017, after much prayer, that they joined MAF.

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The Muthusamis serve with MAF in Cairns, Australia, where Joel is a Recruitment Officer. 

Prabhu grew up in a small village in South India, dreaming of becoming a pilot and serving God at the same time. As Prabhu grew up, God gave him the opportunity to get his Commercial Pilot’s License and even achieve his Master’s in Aviation. 

 

In 2015, Prabhu arrived in Arnhem Land, Australia after being accepted into MAF as a pilot. 

 

Prabhu met Christina in 2017 while on visit to Eastwest Bible College in New Zealand. They got married in December that year. Prabhu had served in Arnhem Land for 2 and a half years by this time.

 

Prabhu and Christina are now in Arnhem Land Australia, where they are looking forward to serving God through MAF as a family. 

Reji is from Bangalore, India. After graduating from university, he worked with different companies, which, to him, was not exciting enough. As he was exploring different possibilities, he came to know about MAF. Ever since, he has never had a dull moment.

 

He is currently serving with MAF in Mt. Hagen, Papua New Guinea as a Flight Scheduler & Logistics Officer. He is surprised, and grateful at the ways God has worked in his life.